Dawn O’Connor

Dawn O’Connor

Dawn O’Connor is the Director of the Science at the Alameda County Office of Education where she leads the Science, EdTech, and Making programs to support the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards and Computer Science Standards. Additionally, she serves as the Co-I and Director of the Science Partnership a collaboration between the Alameda County Office of Education and the California State University East Bay. This partnership brings University Science and Education faculty together with pedagogical experts at the County Office of Education to improve teachers’ science and pedagogical content knowledge while supporting educational reform at the school and site level. Dawn’s vision for science education reform and systems thinking is evident in the science projects she leads and grounded in her extensive background. Before starting at ACOE Dawn was a middle school science teacher for 20 years, a district science lead and a BTSA mentor for the New Teacher Project. Her professional experiences grounded her commitment to an equitable science program for all students and to the support of educators at all levels of the school system. In addition to these projects, Dawn is part of the State level leadership team that is focused on the statewide implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards and is the Region 4 Science Lead. She is also the Director for the East Bay Science Project, which is one of the California Department of Education subject matter projects. This work provides technical support for both local and regional partners